DUMP continues to fight to keep Lake Memphremagog Clean for you and your loved ones. The result of our recent mediation with the landfill representatives is shown below in an excerpt from the joint press release.
“NEWSVT will not dispose of its leachate in the Lake Memphremagog watershed or at the Newport, Vermont sewage treatment facility prior to January 1, 2024 unless State or Federal regulations require NEWSVT to amend its current leachate treatment practices prior to that date. Further, NEWSVT will not dispose of leachate in the Lake Memphremagog watershed or at the Newport, Vermont sewage treatment facility except pursuant to a treatment system designed to comply with all applicable Vermont standards, including PFAS surface water standards, once they are established by the State of Vermont. NEWSVT has also agreed to hire an independent, third party engineer to review odor control measures at the landfill facility and coordinate with DUMP, LLC regarding the engineer’s findings and recommendations with a goal of reducing off-site odors and improving air quality issues for area residents.”
While we are comforted that the processed toxic leachate will no longer flow into Lake Memphremagog (for now), we are concerned about other bodies of water that are affected. Help us convince the State of Vermont to find a better way to handle trash.
Learn how the landfill is adversely affecting our beautiful Northeast Kingdom.
Click to read DUMP’s ACT250 Testimony
Click to read DUMP’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
This is a Statewide Issue for Vermont.
Currently there is only one landfill in the state of Vermont to handle the trash of every resident, and the state has no long term plan to deal with their waste. The landfill is located in the beautiful Northeast Kingdom, situated between wetlands and abutting the Black River, which flows into Lake Memphremagog. Monster trash-carrying trucks drive over the lovely roadways every day to deposit their loads on the ever growing mountain of trash in Coventry. The offensive odors from this landfill spread with the wind. To make matters worse, a leak in an unlined area of the landfill was recently discovered and the water i
n a testing well contains toxic chemicals (PFAS) that are way above the “safe” levels. This is not just a Northeast Kingdom problem; the landfill impact is statewide. The leachate from this landfill, containing almost six times the safety standard of PFAS toxins, is going to Montpelier, North Burlington, Barre, Essex, Concord, NH and Plattsburgh, NY. After being treated in waste water treatment plants, which do NOT remove the PFAS, it is dumped into local waterways still containing the PFAS. Lake Champlain is being polluted by this landfill’s leachate.
It is inconceivable that the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources approved a permit to INCREASE the size of this landfill after releasing the data on PFAS toxins in the leachate, and knowing the issues that have developed in Bennington.
Our NH neighbors are fighting to oppose a landfill in Dalton. Read about their battle here:
Please join us in the fight to close the landfill and find a better solution!
(Header photo by Jeff Gerade, 2018)
